Wednesday, November 24, 2004

10:10 PM Tomorrow morning I’m leading the Pastor’s Stroll. It looks like the weather will be clear and cold, probably around 32 degrees by the time we get started at 9 AM. Here’s a Pastor’s Stoll Quiz to get you started: 1) What famous evangelist said the following when he spoke at Oak Park High School in 1918? “I am a graduate from the University of Hard Knocks and I have taken several post-graduate courses.” Billy Sunday 2) William E. Blackstone, author of “Jesus Is Coming,” and an early proponent of a Jewish nation in Palestine, once lived in A) Our bell tower, B) Our east parking lot, C) Our west parking lot, D) Our baptistry. C Our west parking lot. Of course, it wasn’t a parking lot at the time. 3) Blackstone is considered the father of Christian Zionism. 4) Who once told the girls of Oak Park they were “gum-chewing, rag-time playing, frizzled-hair, pink-nailed candy things that can’t lift a dish-rag to help their mother?” Billy Sunday at the local high school in 1918. 5) Joseph Kettlestrings, a devout Christian, is considered the founder of Oak Park. What phrase is written on his tombstone? A sinner saved by grace. 6) What do John Robinson, Bob Newhart, and Ernest Hemingway have in common? They were all born in Oak Park. 7) For 45 years Dr. Henry Kallenberg (1865-1957) was associated with the Oak Park YMCA. He was a friend of James Naismith, the man who invented the modern game of basketball. What crucial refinement did Kallenberg suggest that made the game move much faster? Knocking a hole in the peach basket so the ball would go through. 8)Ernest Hemingway’s grandparents graduated from what well-known Chicago-area Christian college? Wheaton College 9) Speaking of Hemingway, he reportedly called Oak Park a village of broad lawns and narrow minds. 10) What Bible school was once housed in the former home of the Oak Park YMCA? Hint: Dave and Lynette Hoy both attended this school. Emmaus Bible School 11) Where was H. M. Northrup of 422 Grove Street in Oak Park when someone broke into his house and stole his silverware? Listening to D. L. Moody preach at the First Congregational Church of Oak Park on March 16, 1898. So many people flocked to hear Moody that there was a rash of burglaries that night. 12) Name the famous Christian carol that is loosely connected with our stained glass windows? Note: The connection is very loose indeed. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” by Phillips Brooks. Click here to read more about it. Go to “I. The Prophecy of His Coming” to find the story. Folks, you can’t find the answers to these questions anywhere but on the Pastor’s Stroll tomorrow morning. I’m so excited about it, I can hardly go to bed but I think I will anyway. 8:28 PM Today’s entry in the Crosswalk weblog is called Thanksgiving Eve. 1:38 PM 3144 miles. 10:46 AM This week’s Christian Carnival is now online. It contains 37 entries, including one by yours truly, from all corners of the Christian blogosphere. Lots of good reading to prepare your heart for Thanksgiving. 8:28 AM You can tell that snow is on the way. In fact, you can smell it in the air. I can’t describe it exactly, but you can smell the approaching snowstorm. It’s like this just before the first snowfall each year, or that’s what I think anyway. Marlene isn’t so sure that you can tell by sniffing the air that snow is on the way. Of course I’m helped by the weather forecasts. So it could be wishful thinking, but I woke up excited because we’re going to get snow later today.